Inmate Resists Effort To Claim His Assets

Inmate Mark Strickland owes a debt to society. But should it include handing over the settlement he received as the childhood victim of a priest's sexual assault?

Strickland was among 26 men and women who took part in a lawsuit alleging that members of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport had sexually abused them. Most of the incidents were alleged to have occurred during the 1970s.

As a result of the settlement with the church, Strickland, whose criminal record includes convictions for sexual assault and a string of burglaries, pocketed roughly $140,000. He put the money in the bank and used it for rent on the apartment where his daughter lives while he serves his 12-year prison sentence. He planned to move in with her in September, when he hoped to be released.

Now the state wants his money. As part of a 1996 law, the state can seize the assets of inmates to pay for the cost of their incarceration. And now Strickland, 39, is its latest target. The attorney general's office is trying to seize the roughly $120,000 Strickland has remaining in his bank account.

Strickland's attorney, Timothy Brignole, is arguing that the law is unconstitutional because it amounts to an additional punishment for inmates beyond the fines and loss of liberty imposed by a judge.

``Giving up your constitutional right to liberty, that loss is the penalty being paid for the crime committed,'' said Brignole.

Additionally, Brignole argues, it is unfair because the law didn't exist when Strickland began serving his sentence in 1992. He also said the law is enforced haphazardly and there is no systematic means in place to search for inmate assets.

In fact, Strickland became a target of the state after a correction officer opened his mail as part of standard procedure and found a bank statement detailing his assets.

But the state maintains that no matter how an inmate gets his money, what he is doing with it or how the assets were found, taxpayers shouldn't have to pay for an inmate who can afford to pay for himself.

``Most convicts don't have the resources to pay back for the cost of their imprisonment, but the legislature and my office think they should, whenever possible, be charged,'' said Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.

Blumenthal said the constitutionality of making inmates pay the cost of their incarceration has yet to be challenged. Less than a half-dozen states and the federal government have such requirements.

George Kain, a professor of justice and law administration at Western Connecticut State University, said such restitution laws appeal to the public sentiment to make criminals pay for their crimes ``in as many ways as they can and as hard as they can.'' And it appeals to politicians seeking to look tough on crime.

But such laws may do more harm than good.

Kain said many convicts lack financial means and that's what got them in trouble in the first place, and the law ignores the fact that many people in prison have families that are already in financial trouble. He said the state should be giving inmates opportunities to succeed instead of taking them away.

``We're shortsighted when it comes to these things,'' Kain said.

Instead of deterring crime, Kain said, such laws fuel mistrust in the system, hurt families and make it more difficult for inmates to move back into the community. Additionally, the amount of money the state could get from inmates amounts to a ``drop in the bucket'' in the prison system's roughly $500 million budget.

``It's faulty thinking to believe that it is going to repair or replace a damage, when it is causing more damage,'' said Kain.

Senate Majority Leader George C. Jepsen, D-Stamford, said he has sympathy for what Strickland endured.

``But does it mean that the law is defective? I don't think so,'' said Jepsen.

Jepsen said the law was established on the principle that inmates are obligated to pay for the cost of their incarceration in those instances when they have the means. And it's tough to create a law that takes each and every circumstance into consideration. And, Jepsen noted, the state is considering ways to make the regulations tougher.

According to state records, Strickland, an inmate at Corrigan Correctional Institution in Montville, was convicted of sexual assault in the mid-1980s. The details of that case were unavailable Wednesday. In 1992, he was convicted of burglary, possession of narcotics and criminal mischief. In 1994, he was convicted of two counts of violation of probation, for which he was sentenced to 12 years, and escape from custody, two counts of third-degree burglary, and escape in the first degree.

According to state calculations, Strickland's incarceration will have cost the state about $111,000.

The state is also seeking $12,660 to reimburse the Department of Social Services for public assistance given to Strickland's daughter.